From awareness to action

A CHAVORE - Mental well-being of young Roma children - project, funded by the European Commission's CERV programme, is working in several countries across Europe to promote the mental health and well-being of young children, particularly those from disadvantaged communities such as Roma families. CHAVORE supports early childhood educators and parents through culturally sensitive training tools, creating environments where all young children are seen, heard and cared for from an early stage in their lives. 

Over the past months, the consortium partners have developed a self-paced online learning programme designed for early childhood professionals who are in direct contact with young Roma children and their families. This learning opportunity will provide professionals with knowledge and practical tools to support the overall (holistic) well-being of families. 

The seven learning modules developed in the CHAVORE partnership reflect the objectives of the project in different local contexts. For example, the modules developed by the Croatian, Kosovar and Hungarian partners - which Psychological first aid, emotional literacy and resilience, as well as acceptance and self-care all reflect a shared belief that responsive, attentive adult-child relationships are essential to supporting young children's well-being and development. 

The self-study modules are using everyday experienceand the results of a research project in which project staff studied the needs and coping strategies of early childhood professionals, parents and children aged 3-6. The curriculum encourages professionals to reflect on their own emotions, cultural experiences and relationship patterns and to initiate changes that support children's sense of security, self-confidence and sense of belonging to a community. 

The tools presented are practice-oriented and based on participatory methodology: storytelling, role-playing, supervision, self-reflection exercises and observation strategies. It is particularly important that each partner can adapt the learning process to their own local context. A validation phase was also carried out before the start of the pilot phase. 

These learning modules are from awareness to action empower the learner: enabling early childhood professionals not only to recognise the needs of vulnerable children, but to respond to them with care, competence and awareness. 

The CHAVORE (meaning "children" in Romanian) project aims to promote the mental health and well-being of young children living in disadvantaged communities, especially Roma communities. The programme aims to strengthen inclusive, culturally sensitive early childhood education and care in five countries. The initiative is based on the International Step by Step Association (ISSA) and its Romani Early Years Network (REYN) builds on the professional experience of its programme. CHAVORE develops inclusive and responsive early childhood education and care through an international partnership. The project is supported by the European Commission and the consortium is made up of ISSA member organisations: the project is funded by the Educational Research Institute (Slovenia). Other partners: Open Academy Step by Step (OASbS), Partners Hungary Foundation (PH), Skola dokoran - Wide Open School (SD), and Kosovo Education Center (KEC), and the ISSA Hub. More information: chavore.reyn.eu.